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Cutting two-sided tapers Many furniture designs feature legs that are tapered on the two interior faces. When using the tapering jig, it's important to cut these tapers in the proper order (see drawing, below right). needed, on any size workpiece that will fit on the jig. The sliding braces and the hold-down clamp are held in place with threaded knobs and carriage bolts. The adjustable fence is secured to the braces with carriage bolts and nylon locknuts. Mark pencil lines to define the tapers Before tapering the legs for a project, I always cut all of the mortises first because it's easier to do on square stock. For two-sided tapers, the mortises help me keep track of which sides of the legs will be tapered. Using a pencil, mark the apron line, indicating where the taper MARK THE TAPERS ---l Scribe where the tapers begin and end, first on the faces of the leg (left), then on the bottom of the leg (right). starts on the leg, and then mark a line on the bottom of that same leg to define where the taper ends and how much material must be removed. Use those two lines to set up the jig, lining them up with the edge of the jig that will ride against the sawblade. Set the fence in place and clamp the leg firmly onto the jig. Two-sided tapers are cut on the inside faces of each leg, which already have been mortised for the aprons. To prepare for the first cut, set up the leg in the jig with one of the mortises facing down. Make the first cut, unclamp and rotate the leg, clamp it back in place for the second cut, and then taper the second side. To cut tapers on all four sides of a leg, I use a center-point attach- IN THE PROPER ORDER Start with the first side to be tapered facing the blade and the second facing down. POSITION THE WORKPIECE IN THE JIG Line up the layout mark on the bottom of the leg with the edge of the jig's base (top), then lock down the sliding brace. Next, adjust the top end of the fence until the layout mark on the leg face aligns with the blade (bottom). Now lock down the top sliding brace. CUT THE TAPERS Secure the leg in the jig with the hold-down clamp. Make the first cut, turn off the saw, then rotate the leg (see drawing) to make the second cut. 48 FI E WOODWORKING